More than 40 percent of the cosmetic products purchased through cross-border e-commerce platforms during the November 11 Shopping Festival of 2017 were counterfeit, and changing and refunding of those fake goods has been far more difficult compared with those (bought via domestic channels), according to a report issued by the China Consumer Association on Wednesday.
The report was based on a survey of 16 online shopping platforms, covering nine main categories such as clothes, shoes, smartphones, electronic products, food, cosmetics, home appliances and infant products.
Among the 53 chosen commodities purchased on cross-border shopping websites, 37 of them were quality goods, said the report. But eight out of the 19 cosmetics samples were found to be counterfeit.
In terms of goods that could be returned within seven days "without reason," 62 percent of the surveyed products bought from cross-border e-commerce platforms did not actually support such a service. Also, consumers generally do not opt to return goods due to high transportation and tax fees, according to the report.
For products purchased via domestic shopping websites, quality issues with clothes have become a major concern, but after-sales services were "quite good," said the report.
Also, about 78 percent of online vendors "marked up prices prior to the shopping festival and then lowered the prices, pretending they were offering huge discounts to consumers," said the report.
The report also urged delivery firms to do more to protect personal data. Only seven out of the 206 surveyed courier receipts did not show recipients' personal information.
